Posts Tagged ‘Skin’

The skin is the body’s largest organ, but a new exhibition in London reveals how it is often the most overlooked organ, which people seem to take for granted.

The exhibition at the Wellcome Collection, London has put the human skin under the spotlight highlighting what a crucial part of the body it is.

The human skin prevents infections, retains fluid and other parts of the anatomy, it keeps us cool by allowing us to perspire, and generally act as a barrier to protect us.

So isn’t it time we celebrated what a fantastic organ it really is and gave it some TLC?

The exhibition aims to increase visitors’ understanding of the skin and covers various topics, such as society’s obsession with eternal youth, make up, tattoos, right through to revealing why the skin is so difficult to repair and heal following traumas such as burns.

Facial skin is particularly important, as it will forever be the part of the body that people see first. Looking after and maintaining your skin’s condition is vital to achieving optimum skin health, and it just so happens that good skincare equals youthful looks.

Changing your lifestyle can be the first steps to achieving good skin health – stopping smoking, cutting down on alcohol, eating healthily and exercising are all ways in which you can maintain your skin. Skin peels, using quality moisturisers and non-surgical cosmetic treatments can also re-inject some life into the skin and re-train it to produce the collagen and elasticity that is lost with age.

Always having our finger on the pulse when it comes to skincare, we regularly hear about bizarre home remedies to problem skin situations and the latest is one for wart removal.

Apparently placing a piece of duct tape over the wart – changing, cleaning, and filing away dead skin every three days – kills off the wart and makes it disappear in about two months. MSN believe that it’s the chemicals on the sticky side of the duct tape that suffocate the wart and get rid of it for good.

We personally have never tried it, it may work, it might not. Of course with Summer just around the corner, the last thing you want is to have a grey piece of ugly duct tape wrapped around your foot – it really doesn’t go with those jewelled gladiator sandals!

Plus, two months is a long time to wear the tape and we bet that a more discreet method of wart removal treatment might be more up everyone’s street. There are plenty of over the counter remedies available that freeze the wart, however again these can be prolonged and quite uncomfortable.

Natural wart removal treatment can be much more reliable and the average person only requires two or three treatments. What’s more, if you have multiple warts, for example some on your hands and others on your feet, only one wart need be treated, yet all the warts are likely to disappear. Then within two months, the warts change colour and gradually disappear.

You should find the treatment quite tolerable. But we won’t lie, when the pulse of light is emitted there is a sharp sensation of a hot pinprick which quickly subsides, however most people find that this treatment is very quick and less unpleasant and traumatic than alternative treatments. Another benefit is that as the skin is not broken during the treatment, there is no risk of infection, scabbing or scarring.

SkinGenesis provides wart removal treatment for just £249 – that’s the cost of a few haircuts!

Congratulations to the winners of the Bare Skin Awards at the weekend, sponsored by SkinGenesis at the grand final of TOP MODEL UK.

The winners:

RUNWAY & EDITORIAL
Helen Macgregor

COMMERCIAL
Felicity Mason & Rachelle Mooney

CLASSIC
Gillian MacPherson

It was a weekend packed full of fashion, beauty, glitz and glamour and we had a tough job judging this award category. Helen, Felicity, Rachelle and Gillian we’re all awarded this prestigious prize for their fantastic natural skin tone and clarity.

After taking the USA by storm, YOUNGBLOOD Mineral Cosmetics already enjoy a wide celebrity following and British beauty Cheryl Cole is just one the brand’s latest fans.

Skin care conscious fashionistas in Leeds, Manchester and Chester can now take advantage of the benefits of this young, vibrant mineral cosmetics range being stocked at SkinGenesis.

Clinically tested and developed alongside leading doctors, YOUNGBLOOD uses pure, natural minerals with no preservatives, petroleum dyes, zinc oxide, fragrances or talc. The range acts as both a skin treatment and an effective skin coverage and is suitable for all skin types, ages and ethnicities.

Peter Beard, our director of treatments, said: “Many of our clients come in for skin treatments and like to apply make up before leaving the clinic, so we’re really excited about being able to offer a cosmetics range that not only covers the skin beautifully, but is also good for it.

“The properties of YOUNGBLOOD mineral cosmetics perfectly compliment the skin treatments we offer. This means our clients can benefit from the purest form of cosmetics that cover beautifully without being detrimental to the underlying skin, which is a common problem with other make up brands. The protective and soothing qualities of YOUNGBLOOD make it ideal for our clinic.”

YOUNGBLOOD’s short list of ingredients signifies the simplicity of the brand, distinguishing it from other ‘mineral’ ranges. YOUNGBLOOD is a blend of 100% pure minerals that not only sooth the skin, but also offer adjustable, non-comedogenic and non-acnegenic coverage with a perfectly flawless, sun protecting finish.

Clean and lightweight, YOUNGBLOOD allows your skin to breathe and wont block pores or cause irritation, making it suitable for all skin conditions: sensitive, oily to normal to dry, rosacea and acne, hyperpigmentation and sun damaged, broken capillaries and even allergy sensitive skin.

The range’s multipurpose benefits also make it water-resistant and transfer-proof, meaning your make-up will last all day without touch-ups and in loose, pressed and liquid formulations there is an endless choice of shades and coverage for all skin tones.

The last thing you need with Chrsitmas parties round the corner is for your skin to feel chapped, dry and sore, but what can you really do to protect your face, hands and body that doesn’t cost the earth?

Our skin guru, Peter Beard gives his five tops tips on looking and feeling your best this winter:

“In the warmer months we tend to feel more youthful and alive; the sun encourages the feel-good hormone serotonin to flourish, which in turn makes us feel happier. Winter is a little more depressing and with hurried lifestyles being ever more prevalent these days, it’s easy to let your skin care routine fall by the wayside.

“Whilst engaging in gentle exercise, drinking plenty of water and cleansing and moisturising every day is important, we like to provide our clients with a few extra, more in-depth tips to ensure that their skin is prepared for the winter.”

1. Vitamins and minerals you need more of
“Your skin is the facade of what is going on inside the body and problems manifest in the form of skin complaints such as acne, wrinkles and dry skin. For skin to look more youthful and radiant and to be on top form, you need to ensure that you are getting enough vitamin C, A and E.”

2. Dead cells are the culprits of many skin crimes
“Our skin renews itself every 28 days, shedding its old dead skin cells to make way for a fresher new layer. To make the most of this natural process it is important to practice a good skin care routine. Taking the time to run a gentle exfoliating glove across the face and body once to twice a week will ensure that those pesky dead cells are kept at bay. Investing in a quality daily exfoliating face wash will also have the desired effect.”

3. Call in the professionals
“Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to maintain our skin, it’s often not enough and we simply resort to ‘putting up’ with skin complaints when there really is no need. It’s times like this when it is wise to call in the professionals.

“Having spent years studying and treating people’s skin, professional medi-spa skin clinics can give you the expert advice needed to achieve beautiful skin whatever the season. Alternative skin treatments have come on leaps and bounds in the last decade, with microdermabrasion, IPL and skin peels being clear front-runners in the industry.”

4. Heating versus freezing, both play havoc on the skin
“Constantly moving from one extreme to another can send our skin into overdrive and as people turn up the heating to full power in their homes, walking in from the freezing outdoors can be somewhat of a shock to the system. As we have no control over Mother Nature as to how cold it will be outside, to prevent outbreaks and chapped skin try to increase the central heating inside gradually to give the skin time to adapt to the change of environment.”

5. Refresh your outlook on this season
“Finally a tip that is not widely advocated: start to love winter! Everyone tends to have negative thoughts about winter, which only leads to more negativity in other areas of your life. Try to seek out the positives about winter – snowfall, cosy nights, festive events and nature. Buy a good brolly to avoid the rain, wrap up warm and go out and have fun! A positive attitude will encourage you to be more active, maintain a healthy lifestyle and will see you – and your skin – ready for anything.”

The L’Oreal Elvive shampoo advert, which features Cheryl Cole’s ‘stronger… full of life…got it’s mojo back’ hair, has sparked a bundle of complaints from viewers for being misleading.

Now we all know that advertisers lie on most things, especially beauty adverts. And we also know that in order to reach a Hollywood-perfection look, we would all need countless hours of plastic surgery, a team of live-in stylists/hairdressers/beauticians – the works, oh and we would probably need to win the jackpot on tomorrow’s lottery in order to do this.

No amount of L’Oreal Elvive Full Restore shampoo and conditioner is ever going to make you look like Cheryl Cole’s double. For a start you would need to spend thousands of pounds on natural hair extensions and then there’s the monthly upkeep. However you might have noticed – if you have bionic eyes – the disclaimer on said advert, which, in the tiniest print ever states, ‘styled with some natural hair extensions’ and it stays up for about two seconds!

You can read about other misleading adverts, such as Rimmel’s Sophie Ellis Bextor mascara advert here, as well as Guardian journalist Daisy Goodwin’s take on it.

In the meantime, for a more natural way of getting the celebrity look, why not look at having semi-permanent make-up to give you luscious lashes with minimal effort, or how about some professional, affordableskin treatmentsfor radiant skin that even the A-listers would be envious of?

One thing’s for sure, we won’t give you any false illusions of what you can expect from our treatments, as we provide a free, honest consultation for all our clients.

Lauren Luke from the Guardian is the woman who scours the shelves for the UK’s best beauty buys, making sure that the nation’s make-up always looks its best.

One of her latest entries on the website is how to achieve flawless skin and she has reviewed and highlighted five foundations that give you a clear complexion.

However, throwing on loads of cloggy make-up will potentially give you the complete opposite, as real flawless skin starts with expert skin treatments. Otherwise you are simply hiding your imperfections rather than tackling them head-on.

Whether you have wrinkles, sun damage, acne or another skin complaint, taking the time to strip your skin of all cosmetics and investing in some quality skin treatments that will actually work, is the key way to achieving a flawless skin. We would also recommend using mineral make-up too whilst having skin treatments, such as Jane Iredale make-up, as it’s much better for your skin.

It’s almost Halloween and we are raising awareness of the prevalence of skin warts – not just on the chins of those dressing up as witches!

Warts are small, harmless benign tumours of the skin caused by the human papilloma virus, affecting thousands of people year-round with few treatments delivering a lasting effect.

With a scary ability to spread and manifest anywhere on the body, warts more commonly appear on highly visible areas such as the face, hands and feet.

Specialist treatments like VPL(variable pulsed light) therapy have been developed as powerful, new-generation wart removal techniques, effective after just several treatments. Lotions and potions bought over the counter can either be risky or have a minimal effect.

Peter Beard, skin expert and director at SkinGenesis, said: “Warts are commonly associated with witches and Halloween, so October is the perfect chance to raise awareness of them and show what can be done to treat warts once and for all.

“There are plenty of concoctions and creams out there that claim to freeze your warts, however they can often return and people end up back to where they started. VPL literally gets to the core of the problem and after just a couple of treatments, people can walk away with smooth skin and much more confidence.”

Wart removal treatment costs a single fixed price of £225, regardless of how many treatments are needed.

As if by magic, after just several VPL treatments, the whole body can be wart-free in a matter of weeks by targeting only one or two growths, regardless of how many others you may have.

Topical products containing salicylic acid must be used with caution as they can damage the surrounding skin. A doctor may alternatively freeze warts using liquid nitrogen or surgical methods, which can both result in scarring.

Common warts typically appear on the hands and are grey or flesh coloured and have a raised structure. Plantar warts are harder to treat as they grow into the skin appearing on the soles of the feet, whilst flat warts often grow on the face and hands and can spread rapidly.

VPL wart removal treatment eradicates warts quickly and safely with no risk of secondary infection. It works by delivering a high energy thermal shock deep inside the wart causing the casing to break. This in turn causes the body’s immune system to respond by creating antibodies that will have an antiviral effect on warts all over the body.

Don’t be mistaken for a witch this Halloween – to find out more visit www.skingenesis.co.uk and book your free consultation.

Latest statistics from a poll by Avon reveal that UK women collectively spend over £1.1 billion PER MONTH on make-up… one question we have is how much money are people spending on skin care?

It’s all well and good spending money on looking good, but taking care of your skin before any cosmetics are applied is key to achieving a natural look with your make-up.

Too many women paste on the foundation, concealers and powders everyday to cover up their imperfections, only to neglect their skin in the evening by not removing it properly. This can result in problem skinand blemishes, such as acne, oily skin and dry skin.

Cleansing, toning and moisturising on a daily basis is a quick way to ensure that the skin remains healthy, and a once-a-month or bi-monthly skin treatmentwill ensure that the outer layers of the skin keep renewing themselves thoroughly, giving you the healthy, balanced and glowing skin you’ve always dreamed of.

Mineral make-upis also the way forward when it comes to cosmetics. Forget the cheap, gunky make-up that you say is ‘for everyday use’… stop saving the best stuff for special occasions and start wearing it all the time. Mineral make-up can be slightly more expensive than normal cosmetics, however with no harsh chemicals or colours to wreck your skin, mineral make-up provides a natural way to stay looking gorgeous, while keeping your skin in tip-top condition.

Jane Iredale has a fantastic mineral make up range out, which is actually good for the skin and lets it breathe. Used widely in the TV and film industry it also gives great coverage, as well as caring for the skin.

If we’re spending £1.1 billion on cosmetics anyway, we might as well make sure we’re spending it wisely on products that are going to benefit our skin, rather than cause more problems!